I'm a Redskins fan ... I'm a writer ... I combined the two ... nuff said. For a longer explanation about why this blog exists, read the very first post... Enjoy if you must!

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Foxsports.com Writer Who Pissed Me Off

So, I’m reading this article at foxsports.com by Adrian Hasenmayer (which I’ll post below), and I have to be honest, usually writer’s opinions don’t rankle me a whole lot, even when I disagree with them. I mean, seriously, who gives a rat’s ass? But this guy wrote something that seemed flat out wrong. He was ranking running back packages, and again, I don’t care if he placed the Skins running backs lower than I would have – because ultimately it means nothing. Y’know, it’s not like it's a playoff tiebreaker or something… But it’s what he wrote about the Skins (specifically one part) that pissed me off. Here it is:

Rank #16: There may be warning smoke before a house-fire develops in Jim Zorn's kitchen. Looking strictly at his 2008 season numbers, Portis enjoyed his best year since 2005 — and a Pro Bowl one at that — with 1,487 rushing yards and nine TDs. So why was he benched at halftime against the Ravens during the Redskins' late-season freefall? That's what he still might want to know (shh, it's because he's not much of a receiver or blocker). The veteran back was quoted recently saying he and his coach had long since patched things up. Ideally, a more prolific passing game would open things up for Portis and running mate Ladell Betts.

I don’t have a problem with most of that (although I think their backs are better than 16th), but did you see what glaringly stood out? That’s right, “Portis is not much of a blocker.” Dude, every football expert I’ve ever heard talk about Portis, has stated that he’s probably the best running back blocker in the league. And then, of course, all you need to do is use the eyeball test. If you’ve watched any Skins games in the last few years, Portis rocks incoming blitzers, often bigger than him, sometimes de-cleating them.

Now, here's what I think Hasenmayer did. He based his entire opinion on that one game against the Ravens, in which Coach Zorn said afterward that since Portis didn't practice all week (he was going through that really banged-up stage), he missed a blocking assignment.

But that's an entirely different thing than stating that Portis isn't a good blocker. No one has ever said that. If you’re going to write something, it should not be completely wrong.

I just found another quote from Mr. Hasenmayer: “Everyone knows Paris Hilton’s hideous, but at least she can act.” (okay, I made that up, but I wouldn’t be shocked if he said it.)

I honestly don’t think Mr. Hasenmayer has actually watched many Redskins games the last few years. And if that’s the case, why is he writing about football as an expert? Maybe it’s a one-time mistake. I hope so.

About Me

Who am I? I’m a writer who lives in Los Angeles. I spent the first 22 years of my life in Maryland, most of it in Columbia. I'm a huge sports nut, with the Washington Redskins being my favorite. Read my first post to see my FULL bio (apparently, it was too long for this section.)
Oh, and to see what else I do online, check out my weekly Hollywood web comic: www.StudioReaderStan.com.